The Chris Elliott Fund’s (CEF) Dellann Elliott was one of 200 cancer advocates, doctors and survivors invited to attend a day of collaboration and brainstorming for the future of cancer care &research. This conference was created by Genentech and LIVESTRONG–two leaders in the fight against cancer–and hosted in Austin, Texas on October 18th 2012. An outlet for organizations to collaborate and accelerate idea exchange and cancer solutions, the conference identified new and innovative ways to fight all types of cancers including the Chris Elliott Fund’s focus: brain cancer.

For the Chris Elliott Fund, this was a conference “that affirms the work we’re already pursuing as a brain cancer patient advocacy group focused on patient care,” said CEF Founder & President Dellann Elliott, “For me it was an honor to be one of 200 people nationwide to guide the direction of cancer care to where it will improve cancer survivorship and ultimately, save lives.”

The LIVESTRONG Foundation’s Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Heidi Adams talks about the forum’s outcome, in an article in LIVESTRONG Quarterly (2012): “We want to catalyze action. Not just sit around and talk about something, but actually develop ideas and strategies to move the needle on this fight that we’re in every day.” Jen Mills, Ph.D., Senior Manager of Advocacy Relations at Genentech also speaks in the LIVESTRONG Quarterly article about the timeliness of moving the dial on cancer in new ways: “If you consider how patients should be treated, how we’re accessing medicine, how we’re developing drugs—it’s all constantly changing and we need to come together to discuss how to improve lives.”

A few goals that arose from the conference’s day of collaboration include:

–Opening accessibility for patients to clinical trials as the first line of treatment for cancers that do not have a cure

–A patient focused approach at the time of diagnosis, encouraging doctors to recommend more patients to clinical trials and assisting them in clinical trial enrollment

–Focusing on a need for electronic records to allow transparency and access for patients to necessary clinical trials.

These are goals that define CEFs mission and goals that CEF has been providing and will continue to provide to brain cancer patients. In press release regarding the event’s outcome Dellann Elliott said, “CEF is already doing this, we are already moving the dial on cancer with the goal to get patients into clinical trials immediately upon diagnosis, to improve the day-to-day lives of cancer patients and their families and save & extends lives, “says CEF’s Elliott.

“We are excited to already have established this type of patient-oriented program and hope to be a model for other organizations in the United States looking to change current medical practices surrounding cancer treatment. We hope to to create an environment of not only more survivors of brain cancer but also, through our mission, encourage other organizations that aid cancer patients. We hope to encourage other organizations to put the patient first by making clinical trials the first line of treatment, that then feeds research that will ultimately cure these incurable diseases,”

Check out the CEF Press Release on PRWeb!

As always, if you have any questions regarding services CEF provides or questions about brain cancer patient care, CEF can be reached at 1.800.574.5703 or at [email protected]